We hope that kwezi inspires other creators to put out content. Forget black panther africas homegrown superheroes. Kwezi has definitely caught wave in the almost non excistant black culture of comic books created by black people for people. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. From june 1st, kwezi has been stocked in exclusive books stores nationwide making it the first south african comic book to be made available at a major retailer. This edit will also create new pages on comic vine for. He created its flagship south african superhero comic book, kwezi. A few months later, in 2014, loyiso developed and published the first south african superhero comic book series, kwezi, which is now the. Loyiso mkize is a south african artist and founder of his own visual arts and communication company loyiso mkize art pty ltd. New south african superhero comic kwezi by artist loyiso.
Mkize founded the visual art and communication company loyiso mkize art ltd in 2015. Loyiso mkize is making his own mark on the local comic book. A hustler and champion of local comics design indaba. We have lots of content creators who exist, they just dont have platforms. Mary mcfadden of the arcade has compiled a list of mustread african comic books, including nigerias comic republic, loyiso mkizes kwezi and lauren beukess all the pretty ponies. Loyiso mkize presents the follow up to an extremely successful debut. The first issue served its purpose well, it introduced a new character and put some of his powers on display. From south africa, she made her debut writing a fantastic oneshot called all the pretty ponies for vertigo. Kwezi, which means star in xhosa and zulu, is the brainchild of loyiso mkize, a. The comic book quickly rose to popularity with new episodes being published in steady succession. Loyiso developed and published the first south african superhero comic book series, kwezi, which is now the companys flagship product. South african superhero comic, kwezi by loyiso mkhize. Kwezi, which means star in xhosa and zulu, is a 19 year old boy from gold city a fictional city based on johannesburg. Click here to buy kwezi by loyiso mkize on paperback and find more of your favourite childrens young adults books in rarus online book store.
Mkize has been creating comics professionally since 2009, and is one of the main artists of one of the most popular comics in the world. Before devoting himself to his own company and fine art full time, mkhize worked as the head illustrator for a popular soccer comic book supa strikas srika entertainment. Kwezi is a story the follows a young city kid who discovers he has super human abilities. His company loyiso mkize art pty ltd serves as a central base from which his work is created. Here are 5 things we learned listening to his story. With kwezi, we finally have a south african superhero who deals with local issues and makes references to local jokes and who uses slang that is true to the streets of johannesburg.
Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Issues collectors edition by loyiso mkize goodreads. Kwezi is a young city dweller who discovers he has super human abilities. Kwezi is the worlds most powerful superhero, but does he have the will to discover his greatness. Graphic novel and comic book illustrator, loyiso mkize between. Kwesi flyboy africas youngest superhero amacreatives. Kwezi flyboy would, and is probably be the superhero the continent has every seen. Loyiso developed a love of art from the age of 5 and has followed his passion to this day as a fine artist, comic book illustrator and as founder. Miles morales appears in costume with his mask off a lot both on covers and in actual comic books, so i think this is an option lots of fans are going to prefer.
Loyiso mkhize introduces new characters such as azania, illustrated abouve, to the comic with every issue. Kwezi is south africas first superhero comic book series. Kwezi is a comic book series founded by our very own noble son of the soil, loyiso mkize, a prolific internationally acclaimed illustrator, designer and fine artist from butterworth, eastern cape. They took a risk on me because id never worked on a comic book.
Mkize has created illustrated artworks for a number of comic book projects and is also a fine artist in his own right. A hustler and champion of local comics created by loyiso mkize, the comic and its main character, kwezi, take place amongst the. Loyiso mkize is no stranger to the world of south african comics. A south african superhero comic loyiso mkhize tells us about his local superhero comic, kwezi, which he hopes will become a phenomenon. Starting out as a coillustrator for supa strikas, loyiso has branched out with a new initiative and has founded his own visual arts and communication company, loyiso mkize art which is publishing south africas first homegrown superhero comic book, kwezi. Introducing the dream team behind south african comic, kwezi. Collectors edition issues kwezi comics book 1 ebook.
Loyiso mkize biography south african visual artist. Kfc teamed up with comic illustrator loyiso mkize to. His journey starts off as a selfserving narcissist who only uses his abilities to further his social status. Loyiso mkize is a south african visual artist and was born in butterworth, 19th march. Kwezi collectors edition 4 issues 1012 sees our team of heroes faces challenges they never could have predicted while mpisi sets about establishing an antisuper campaign. Loyiso mkize has 348 posts on their instagram profile. Created by south african artist loyiso mkize, kwezi is the classic young hero in a. Loyiso mkize is making his own mark on the local comic book industry, and sharing his insights and reflections. Loyiso mkize was born in the town of butterworth also known as gcuwa in south africa. Created by acclaimed artist loyiso mkize, the series is centered on 19 year old kwezi, a typical south african youngster immersed in popular youth culture who develops a connection with his traditional roots. The character kwezi begins as a young narcissistic kid with superpowers who morphs into a superhero as the issues progress. He completed his studies in graphic design at cape peninsula university of technology in 2009. An incredible south african superhero comic with relateable and representative characters. Kwezi, in the development of its characters, manages to diverge from the stereotype of the sidney poitier comic book hero, a fact that is demonstrated through the absence of white characters in any of the publications.
This week we find out how loyiso set out, against all odds, to bring a uniquely south african superhero to life, in the incredible new comic book character kwezi. Loyiso mkize, a cape town based artist and co illustrator of the hip supa strikas comic book and animation series on dstvs disney channel, launches his independent project under the loyisomkizeart flagship. Loyiso mkize on the pursuit of african excellence the. In 2014, loyiso mkize created kwezi, a 19yearold city boy who. He recently founded his own visual arts and communication company loyiso mkize art pty which publishes the energetic south african superhero comic book, kwezi. Kfc partners with artist loyiso mkize ahead of comic con. Loyiso mkize is a south african visual artist and was born in butterworth, 19th march 1987. A comic book centered around soccer players and which was mostly used as a medium for advertisers to display their brands and products. The bindup of the first three kwezi comics, which tell the story of a classic young hero in a johannesburgesque fictional city, will be released in two new languages this month.
This is the book i want to give all of the kids in south africa. Meet the team behind kwezi sas first superhero comic iol. The african superhero universe widens with south africas. Loyiso s his creators hope is that kwezi will ultimately become a cult figure.
Kwezi is the worlds most powerful superhero, but does he have the will to dis. Kfc partners with artist loyiso mkize ahead of comic con africa 2019. I created the comic book, but i realised very quickly that i couldnt do it alone. Published on aug, 2015 at just the tender age of 28, loyiso mkize has managed to create a comic book series, titled kwezi, through a company he. Loyiso mkizes kwezi culture blog the way of us superbalist. Collectors edition issues kwezi comics book 1 an amazon book with buzz. The african superhero universe continues to widen with the emergence of a comic book series from south africa. Loyiso took the risk to create kwezi and clyde took the risk to go along with it.
Before devoting himself to his own company, loyiso mkize art pty ltd and. Loyiso mkize with one of his portraits at his solo exhibition. Loyiso mkize is one of south africas best known graphic novel and comic book illustrators, being one of the foremost contributors to the sunday times supplement supastrikers but turns to painting for creative expression and as an avenue for his personal, political and social commentary. African comic book writers to watch including loyiso. His company produced the south african superhero comic book series kwezi.
He studied at the cape penisula university of technology in cape town, south africa where he obtained his diploma quali. Kwezi is south africas very own homegrown superhero, selling out in print with every edition. Loyiso mkize is a south african visual artist specialising in fine art and comic book illustration. The brainchild of south african artist loyiso mkize, kwezi was released to critical acclaim in 2016. Kwezi comic book took three years of trials and tribulations to finally have available to. Loyiso mkezi didnt begin his foray into the comic book world with kwezi however. Kwezi kwezi comics by loyiso mkize author clyde beech author. Kwezi collectors edition loyiso mkize new africa books. The remarkable amount of work that goes in the craft of this comic book is over whelming. Follow their account to see all their photos and videos. His african superhero is similarly real, as kwezi is about finding ones identity and purpose, and tells of a selfinvolved teenager with superpowers who must learn that with his. He studied and now lives in cape town where he has worked as head illustrator for the south african soccer comic series supa strikas.
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